Create Image-less Graphs And Charts

Adding beautiful charts to your site does not have to require a hefty server-side process or a third party service. With CSS and a little ingenuity, you can have the lightweight, easy to create visualizations of your data.

Google’s Chart API is an alternative to rolling your own. Passing your data is almost as easy because it goes in an image URL. While you don’t have to pay for the bandwidth of the chart, the API still comes with some strings attached and Google can pull the plug whenever it wants. If you’re looking for 3-D or pie charts, the sort of stuff that can’t be done with CSS, that may still be your best bet.